Text/Typography

Fair warning. This review is pretty gigantic in comparison to most we do! Buckle up.

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing an up and coming brand called The Heathens Star 79 , this was quite a good opportunity for a whole brand review as we got sent 3 X Mens T-shirts and 3 X Women’s T-Shirts, so it has been a pretty thorough review.

Obviously I’m not a lady so I can’t really comment on the fits and the styles and the general feel of the product so it was a good opportunity to get a new HYA writer to weigh in, so this review will be split into two sections the other section being handled by Jen.

So one thing I want to get clear straight away is that I like this brand and getting to know the main man behind it has been fun as well, it’s all homegrown – he has experience in the industry but all of this is done off his own back in his place, there is something super satisfying about chatting to someone who prints their own shirts, get’s their own shirts made and just wants to be involved in every step of the process along the way – to me it adds a little something extra to the shirt when you know the effort that has gone into it. That said overall there are some brilliant points to what he’s accomplished and also definitely some areas he can improve on or things that are not quite to my taste.

When I received the package from The Heathens I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself ever so slightly – it was exactly how I imagined packaging up my products if I were ever to create a brand. They were packaged in a simple brown paper with string tied round and a wax seal. It. Was. Awesome. This is definitely a nice addition to any brand but obviously doesn’t mean what you receive is a great product. Just these little things that I enjoy and really does add to the professionalism of a brand and keeps it nice and consistent. Like I always say though these things aren’t essential to a brand but they add to the whole experience.

So the shirts are custom printed (i.e. not Gildan not American Apparel) which is quite surprising for a relatively new brand. They are quite a thin shirt which personally I enjoy but this could effect the longevity of the garment, but for those who love a light weight shirt it is very comfortable. The shirts themselves also have a seam down the back which I’d never encountered before – I assumed it might have been a cost cutting exercise but when asking he thought it added a bit of character to the shirt. I’m inclined to agree that it is definitely unique but I found it slightly irritating initially but once on for a few minutes I soon forgot it was there. Just a little note that the female t-shirts don’t have this feature.

It was a bit of a mixed bag for me personally with the designs. I’ll start off with my least favourite which was the ‘Dog Villain’ I want to like this design, and it does certainly look cool, but the choice of having it quite faded out and especially on a white garment isn’t the best way to really show off the design, I think it’s a combination of quite a subtle design on a colour of shirt I don’t usually wear (if you were to look in my wardrobe very little of my clothes are white). This isn’t to say that the design is bad, it’s just not my taste and it almost comes across as drawn on to the t-shirt. Each to his own though, some of you out there may love it!

‘Star Suicide’ is my next favourite, it’s bold, its big and it stands out thats for sure. This is how I like white t-shirts to be. I wouldn’t usually go for this sort of style but I can definitely see that this will appeal to people out there and the fade does look really good. I feel that part of the reason this isn’t my favourite is I’m probably not cool enough to be rocking this shirt!

‘Line Drop’ my personal favourite, I really really like this one. It’s simplicity is awesome, I love the fade and the subtle Heathens typography behind the lines. One thing I will mention as a slightly negative is that using names in relatively new brands is somewhat off putting I feel for people purchasing their t-shirts if its too in your face as they won’t have an established fan base – however I think with these ones it has fitted in quite well to not be too overbearing from the style of the shirt. I’ve found myself wearing this one quite a lot actually so I can definitely say I’ve got a few white shirts I enjoy wearing now!

Now we’ll pass over to Jen on her first post as she reviews the ladies side of the review!

I am very pleased to be writing my first post, especially for The Heathens 79 as I really like the tees they offer.

What I tend to look for in tshirts is the quality of the print itself – whether it is stiff due to the dye or technique used, and whether it grins. I also look at positioning of the prints, as well as the handfeel, colouration and quality of the fabric used in the tshirts themselves. I was given three of the women’s options, two of which I love and the other isn’t really my taste but obviously that’s just personal opinion. The fabric is of good quality but not the softest or heaviest jersey.

There is nice detailing on each tshirt with back neck binding and shaped sleeves. The logo is printed in the back neck also which is a nice touch and shows the branding. One negative would be that in one of the tshirts this was not lined up in the centre like the others – perhaps this was a small error on this particular sample but I’d hope a larger number sold on the website are like this as it shows inconsistency.

The labels used are awesome – a real point of difference. I love the unique-ness of the message. I can certainly say myself and Ben did drink whilst in the tees, but I have no comment on whether anything else occurred! What I will say is that I’d hope these labels change from paper to card if the brand get bigger.

The ‘Feather Cross’ would be my personal favourite as the print is quite commercial following the cross trend on the high street a few years ago. This may put some people off, however working in fashion, I believe it is a great piece to have featured in the collection. The print is quite thin therefore the handfeel is soft – an aspect I prefer. However, due to this it does slightly grin but unfortunately probably unavoidable. The detail in the feathers are good and the positioning on the body is perfect.

The ‘Rose N Bones’ is a nice design too with added colour, but I would have liked the position of the rose more symmetrical with the cross bones. Again, the print allows the fabric to remain soft and flexible.

My least favourite is the ‘Heathens Star’ tee purely for the fact the print is shiny and has a stiffer handfeel than the others this is partly due to a rubber ink used in the name. There seems to have been 2 screens on this one too however the branding and the background are both black so you can’t make out the name easily. Personally, I would not buy this as I don’t like the design –it’s too masculine.

I would definitely consider buying the other 2 though, perhaps even more so if they were in long sleeved or vest shapes. The Heathens Star 79 are definitely worth a visit.

It feels really good to be reviewing on HYA again and what a better way to start than with California based QTee! They are not like any other brand I have reviewed – first of all, QTee let ME pick out what tees I wanted to review and once I was on their site, I understood why… everything is customizable and they wanted me to have the full experience! You can pick from over 100 graphics – once you have chosen, you not only can pick what type of apparel you want it printed on, but you can also select colors for several elements of the graphic. Once I got a hang of the interface, I was playing around with several designs and having a lot of fun with it to be honest. (There is even a video on how to customize!)

A lot of QTee’s designs are text driven, but they also have a nice amount of layered and photo based designs, as well as ones with patterns, pocket designs, and simple graphics. So with that said, I decided to pick a patterned one and a text based one just to get an idea how both would turn out. How did I like them? Very much!

Ordering, shipping, + packaging:QTee promptly sent me a ‘thank you for your order’ email, and shortly after that they sent out tracking info, so no worries there. From start to finish, it did take about a week for each tee to get to me. They arrived in a standard t-shirt mailer – the white, tough plastic one – which QTee fancied up with a large, di-cut logo sticker (and FYI – it could be peeled off if you wanted to keep it!) With the t-shirts came a nice postcard with a discount code, as well as a vibrant logo sticker. Each t-shirt was wrapped in tissue paper and then inserted into a clear, plastic sleeve; so all in all the packaging was very professional, yet standard.

Unwrapping: As I pulled each t-shirt out from their packaging, my first reaction is to always feel them from top to bottom of course, and each tee was VERY soft to the touch and had a clean, freshly printed smell. Next I ran my hand over the print/ink and it was soft as well, not very thick or stiff and definitely printed evenly. I assumed they were DTG (direct to garment) printed, but I did not want to give you readers the wrong info, so I contacted QTee from their Website asking this, not expecting a reply for a day or so, but I got a reply almost instantly (which, come on, that is some great customer service) and my assumption was right, they print DTG. Once unwrapped, I saw each t-shirt had a “YOU’RE CUTE” logo tag attached, which made me smile – I adore details like that.

Now for the shirts themselves: The heather-gray, floral t-shirt is titled Freshly Cut Flowers and I chose a Hi-Lo Muscle Tank for this one since I have not owned something like that before! QTee describes it well, “This is our version of the perfect muscle tank made more flattering for the feminine figure. High side slits and oversize underarm openings.” The text based tee Life is Better in the Water, is printed on an Oversized Boyfriend Tee, “Our Oversized Boyfriend Tee has a loose fit, more coverage on the shoulders and overall relaxed, boyfriend style fit. Warning: Your boyfriend may get jealous. This style fits 1 to 2 sizes bigger.” Now silly me wants to complain that my tees fit a little too large to my liking, BUT silly me also did not read the descriptions or the size charts that were readily available – so that is totally my fault! I thought size Small would do the trick, but if I would have explored the description I would have chosen the XS option for both, so keep that in mind when you order. Each tee is thin, as you can see in the images, the white tee especially is a bit see-through, but I tend to like that especially when you wear a bikini or possibly a bandeaux underneath. (They are perfect for the beach too, hence why my photographer, Tabitha Payne, and I had a seaside photoshoot!) They also had that worn-in feeling which to me is the best – being a 52% cotton / 48% modal which gives them that comfortable feeling, but also don’t overlook the American Apparel tri-blends available as well (a personal favorite).

Recap: Overall, I am happy with my QTee purchases – print quality, t-shirt quality, customer service, and website interface are all top notch! They are not too pricey, especially since you get to customize your design – tees ranging from about $19.95 to $24.95. I know this brand is marketed to females, but any guys reading this should consider this a good place to buy the lady in your life a cool, customized t-shirt – you can say, “Hey, I designed it myself too!” Also, I know they are called QTEE, but tees are not the only thing they offer; there are sweatshirts, work-out apparel, bags, hats, Converse shoes, even underwear and collaborations as well. One more thing, QTee was nice enough to provide a coupon code for all you HYA readers! Just enter the code: HideYourArms15 at checkout and it will take 15% off your entire order – so needless to say, QTee is definitely worth checking out!

‘At Bergies™ we are determined to bring you the most awesome options from across the globe in socks, slippers and other really cool stuff. From socks with cats (we LOVE cats), to items for those with sensitive feet, to the Worlds Softest slippers – we’ve got something for everyone!’

So I’ve recently had the pleasure of reviewing a whole treasure trove of socks that were delivered by Bergies who class themselves as some what of a Sockurator. A self proclaimed, might I add amazing, title that is hard to deny. They quite literally may be the holy grail of socks. They stock a whopping 21 different branded socks. If I’m quite honest I didn’t even think there would be that many brands out there! They also have a few products of their own creation geared mainly towards keeping little ones feet nice and snug.

Now I’m somewhat of a fussy sock buyer, so not all of the socks that I received were quite to my liking. You’ll more likely find me bare foot than wearing socks, however that’s not to say that any of these socks are bad, but not quite to my fussy foot requirements as you will read. The one great thing about socks I find though is the fact you can pretty much get away with wearing what ever the hell you like, and it leaves a great deal of creativity for sock manufacturers. Most people don’t really care what they put on their feet so you can be as outlandish as you like, which is awesome. Bergies really have a wide curated selection of socks to satisfy any persons sock desires.

I love the design of this one, it’s simplistic and comical at the same time. It definitely however is a design that’s well suited for socks, if it was anything else but socks I really don’t think I’d wear it. I most certainly wouldn’t go around wearing a burger t-shirt that’s for sure! The socks themselves are comfortable enough, not the most comfortable out of all of them. They feel slightly restricting on my feet. I’m a size 10 UK which is roughly 10.5 in US so I fit nicely in the middle of the one size range for these socks, I however would chalk this down to personal preference as I’m not a huge fan of a tighter fit for socks, which these definitely fall into the category of ever so slightly. Perhaps having various sizes of socks would improve this as trying to create a one size fits all sock for sizes 7-13 is probably a difficult feat! All of this said once I get over the initial tightness of the sock I can comfortably wear these for a day with no problems.

I was surprised to find that these were my favourite socks. I don’t know whether it’s the hipster-esque irony of wearing something that says gangsta on my feet hilarious or just the fact that these socks are probably the most comfortable out of all of the socks I received. The design is simple, it literally just says gangsta down the side of the sock. I can’t really say it’s the most amazing design out there but it makes me chuckle and I have a good laugh wearing them. Surprisingly as well, they’re fantastic for running, it must be to do with the cushioned soles to the them but I’ve worn them a few times while running now and they’re probably my go to sock for that activity now. Again it’s a 1 size fits all sock design and this time round it fits me perfectly and doesn’t feel a restrictive as the Burger Socks. I’d definitely be happy with purchasing these ones myself.

The design of this sock would surely be welcome in any persons wardrobe, probably the most ‘normal’ sock out of the bunch that would be unlikely to get you any odd stares, unlike perhaps burgers on your feet! If you’re looking for a nice well designed sock this one is probably for you. I was expecting it to be quite uncomfortable to be honest, it looked like it was very small for my feet. I was pleasantly surprised that it just about fit quite well, it’s slightly snug but when I was walking around and doing my general day to day things it didn’t feel uncomfortable. However when I think about the sock on my foot it is just a tad too tight. I have to pull out the end of the sock ever so slightly making the heel not match up quite perfectly, however I can’t really fault them for this. As you can imagine I’m a bit of a fussy sock wearer so take my criticisms with a pinch of salt, I could wear this sock for the day and get on perfectly well with it but I think I could do with it for my own personal preference to be slightly larger.

I’ll start off by saying. I love this design, it’s awesome. I mean what isn’t to like? For a design it is my favourite because it’s just hilarious however, as a sock it’s not so good. The sock doesn’t really have any shape to it, they came flat, most socks will change direction at the heel. These lie perfectly flat ton the ground, the actual formation of the sock is very uncomfortable and just seems like two pieces of fabric that have been sewn round the edges so your toes uncomfortably hit seam right at the end of the sock opposed to being on top of your toes. The design as well suffers from the construction of the sock, because it is a one size fits all the image distorts and has bad ‘grinning’ when actually worn, which makes the actual design on the sock a tad to make out. I really wish I could have given these socks a better review but to me they’re more of a jokey gimmick sock to give someone than an actual functioning one. I think you could maybe get away with wearing this sock as more of an in-house slipper alternative but for day-to-day wear I found it rather annoying unfortunately.

When trying out these socks it took me a little while to get used to them, annoyingly you can’t really just pull the socks on you have to work them slowly up the foot which was quite infuriating. I found that one of the socks in particular had a point where you pulled the sock up to and it got caught on your heel, there were a couple of threads going across the heel line (presumably to keep the heel shape) that just felt like it would tear a hole in the sock. Perhaps this is a slight manufacturing fault on this particular sock because the other one wasn’t as irritating to pull on – although it still was a bit problematic. Once I had the sock on it was very comfortable and felt lovely on my foot, they weren’t overly tight which was a bonus for me. The design is nice, I can’t really give them much credit for it because it obviously isn’t an original design – however if you fancy a bit of wearable art for your feet it is very cool. I was a bit confused on their website initially as they had two of the same design. I spoke to the guys over at Bergies and the manufacturer actually charges a slightly higher price for the bigger sock due to the extra fabric used. It’s also got a slight different composition, but it’s very marginal so I’m not sure whether that would contribute to the price change. Luckily it isn’t too steep it’s about $3 difference but it may be a bit off putting for some. Personally I think it is a bit daft to have different sizes of socks being priced differently for the exact same design, but I’m not holding that against Bergies but more at the manufacturer.

These are probably tied for my favourite alongside the gangsta socks. They’re a fantastic all round sock, comfortable, ease to put on, awesome design that I really like and I really don’t have any problems with them at all. I’ve worn them the most out of all of the socks and they’re just a perfect fit for me! I’m honestly at words as to what to say really regarding them because I can’t think of anything negative to say.

Overall I really like what Bergies are doing, I must admit though I’m a bit of a cheap skate when it comes to socks and usually just buy what ever is on offer, but these are a really nice collection to my socks now and it is fun to wear socks with awesome designs on! If you’re in the market for some new socks definitely check them out.

Coming from our success of our summer14 line we have managed to step up the garments even further in this release, from cut and sew pieces, to experimenting with textures and embellishments. Here is a brief breakdown of the collection:

Script Hood- Since releasing it 2014 and having it sell out in 3 weeks we had to bring this garment back in 2 colourways! (Heather Grey/Black x Mint Choc Chip) The also pullover hoodie features our custom milk bottle drawstring ends which caught a lot of attention last year.

College Dropout Varsity- Our first varsity in Navy/Burgundy. Features an embroidered ‘milk script’ patch along with a textured ‘Drop’ chenille patch, typically seen on varsity jackets.

Ben : I’m big fan of Milk and have been for a little while now. I’ve actually purchased some of their stuff before and I can say it’s well worth it. The presentation of the delivery and finished product is just awesome. It’s hard to believe that they’re a relatively new brand in the grand scheme of things because their presentation is just spot on. The garments come packaged in old milk cartons which is a cool little touch, and everything features a nice little tag and really ties all of their products together with that professionalism you don’t necessarily see so early on. I’ve actually got one of their early on pocket tees, which while the quality of the shirt wasn’t the best out there, the whole feel of it was still very awesome – However having a chat to Matty over at Milk he assures me their quality has been ramped up a lot!

Anyway on to the actual new release. I’m a personal big fan of the simple Milk hoodie, the font is just awesome and mainly overall I love it for the draw strings (I know such a stupid reason to love a hoodie but who cares). I also particularly like the button up shirt with contrasting pocket, it’s simple and cool and I can see it appealing to a wide range of people. I’m not a huge fan personally of the Missing Crew Neck or the Varsity Jacket personally but that’s just not fitting with my tastes. I love the idea behind the Missing one however and it does make me chuckle but I just wouldn’t wear it (I don’t think I’ve ever worn an actual sweat shirt so I think that’s what puts me off a tad). The Varsity jacket is cool but again I’m letting my personal tastes affect my opinion here I just don’t see myself wearing it, it looks pretty awesome though with the custom patches on the left breast, the Milk drop emblem looks a tad rough around the edges close up on the images but that’s a manufacturing fault and not a reflection really upon their design and it’s only very minor areas where there seems to be a loss of colour.

Overall it’s a very strong lineup and there is sure to be something that will fit most peoples tastes out there, and definitely check out the rest of their products as they have some very well priced clothes! What do you guys think to their new line? Let us know!

For the month of February, No Love City is offering $10 off of their popular ‘Support Local Hip Hop’ shirt. The shirt was designed and features incredible typography skills by Friks84. Just enter discount code HIPHOP during checkout at www.nolovecity.com

“As a designer and visual artist it’s essential to develop a style and to go your own way. With this Shirt I just wanted to keep that in mind and combine it with two other things I realy like: Good typography and T-Shirts. I hope you like my typework on this Shirt!”

I like vinyl toys and have a few sitting on top of my PC tower, but I’m not that into the whole culture of it. Pobber on the other hand, they just can’t get enough, so they have celebrated this with a shirt riffing on the iconic ‘make peace not war’ slogan. Pretty cool!

Lemniscate Apparel is having a spring sale from now until the end of May. Pick up that shirt you’ve had your eye on with discount code “hideyour10” (all one word, all lowercase) and receive 10% off your entire purchase. The promotion ends May 31, 2014 at 11:59PM (PST) Lemniscate Apparel is an indie clothing brand that focuses on typography, vintage advertising, and old school messaging. Lemniscate Apparel, fun to say, fun to wear.

I probably wouldn’t wear the 99 Problems shirt released this week at Snorg, but it did make me smile and that’s a lot more than most ‘funny’ shirts do. Generally solid week of releases, there’s some fun stuff here.

We asked four of our favorite type guys — Ale Paul, Neil Summerour, Corey Holms, and Grant Hutchinson — to create a hand-lettered T-shirt for TypeCon 2013. We love that each shirt reflects their individual style and personality. It’s a little bit of them, on you (but not in a creepy way).

And you can save 40% on any or all of them by entering offer code LETTERING13 at checkout.

The good news? The offer code is valid right through December 31, 2013.

On the Internet today: a supercut mixtape of the most iconic t-shirts to grace the Silver screen. The edit includes some memorable faves — Vote For Pedro, Nigel’s Green Skeleton tank top from This Is Spinal Tap, the so-called Shark Cat design from Pineapple Express — but is carefully leavened with some curious artifacts of the slogan variety from the ’80s.

Think you can identify all of the movies? Be the first to do so and you’ll win a $100 gift card good for anything at Found Item Clothing! Details on how to enter right at Found Item’s blog, It Goes To 11. (A full list of every film will be posted after the winner is announced.)